Garret Smith Plays Ball at Boston College

Playing baseball at the collegiate level takes a lot of hard work, and Garret Smith knows that.

Smith, a 2007 graduate of of Shrewsbury, has gone from playing baseball at the high school level to playing the sport for the Boston College Eagles at the Division I level in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Thanks to Smith's grit and determination, he has turned into a solid everyday player at college.

“I give all the credit to my parents because they put up with all the traveling and all the driving to the games,” Smith said. “I give credit to my dad, too, because he was always in the backyard playing with me, playing long toss and throwing me batting practice.”

“I thought if I worked harder than anybody else, I’d be in a better position than everybody else and hopefully go onto that next level,” he added.

Smith, now a senior at Boston College, plays a variety of positions for the Eagles, including catcher, closing pitcher, first base and third base.

In 37 games, Smith is batting .303 with 43 hits, 16 RBI and a team-high 59 total bases. In addition, Smith leads the team in ERA (2.63) and saves (6) while striking out 13 batters in 10 2/3 innings.

Some athletes would attribute their success solely to their natural abilities, but not Smith.

“I kind of see my success from the preparation that I put in, the hard work,” Smith said. “You don’t get anywhere without preparation, and I’ve had some bumps in the road in my career this far, and I kind of changed the way I prepare and work a little bit smarter this year than I had in the past years.”

Despite Smith’s solid season, Boston College is 15-24 (6-14 ACC) and is in fifth place in the ACC Atlantic Division as of April 29.

“It’s been kind of an up and down season,” Smith said. “Everybody’s trying to figure out where we stand right now. It’s been a different year, and it’s been a learning experience so far.”

“We still can make a run, the season is not over by far," he said. "We can make a run in the ACC tournament, and if we win that, we’re right back in the race.”

Smith has the unique ability to both pitch and catch, which has ultimately helped him in all facets of the game.

“Coach has let me call games a little bit more behind the plate,” Smith said. “Say I’m playing at third or first, and I go in and I kind of know the throw [from the pitcher]. It kind of lets me handle the pitchers and what to throw to certain hitters.”

Even though Smith has proven to be a talented closer, he is genuinely glad to play any position.

“Honestly, I’m happy wherever,” Smith said. “I realize the biggest thing is my arm strength right now. I’m just trying to use that wherever I go, whether it’s third base, pitcher or catcher.”

As expected, pitching at the Division I level is no easy feat, especially in the ACC.

“The hitters are really good,” Smith said. “You can’t just go to 0-2 [in the count], throw two strikes and get ahead in the count and just expect to blow a fastball by him. It’s difficult because the hitters are unbelievable in this league.”

Smith has noticed differences between high school and college baseball, including the level of intensity.

“I think the energy, the level of play and the pitching I think is the biggest difference between playing at St. John’s and playing in the ACC,” Smith said. “On a daily basis, you see guys go out there [and throw] 90, 92, 93 [miles per hour] with really good off-speed pitchers. They’re not just counting on their fastball. They mix it up with their change-ups and sliders.”

One of the perks of playing for the Eagles is the unique ability to play at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, each year as part of the annual Beanpot baseball tournament.

Smith has now played in the Beanpot at Fenway for three years, and has loved it each time.

“It’s cool,” said Smith. “Every year we get to play in the Beanpot, which is cool. It’s always been a dream, every year it gets more and more exciting. We all have a good time when we get to Fenway.”

Naturally, playing in one of the world’s most historic ballparks can be nerve-wracking, and it certainly was for Smith the first time around.

 “I was a little nervous the first time I stepped on Fenway Park,” Smith said. “It was pretty tough, but I had a good time. It’s just something that I’ve always wanted to play on. It’s an amazing atmosphere.”

Smith is no stranger to success in baseball. During his playing career as a shortstop at St. John’s, Smith enjoyed a high level of success, even hitting at a .404 clip as a senior and being named to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette Super Team.

Despite his success as a senior, Smith’s most memorable season came during his junior year when St. John’s won the district finals against rival St. Peter-Marian.

“Just being with those guys, it was a great experience, that was my best experience of St. John’s baseball,” said Smith, who couldn’t play during the tournament run due to a back injury.

Playing at St. John’s, Smith had the fortunate experience of knowing local legend Greg Montalbano, who passed away at age 31 on August 21, 2010.

Montalbano was drafted by the Red Sox and pitched for the Worcester Tornadoes, but more importantly, loved to make others laugh and simply enjoyed life.

“My best friend, Chad Gallagher, he was really good friend with him, and so was our head coach at BC right now, he played with him for two seasons I believe,” Smith said.

“He was awesome to be around," he said. "He would crack jokes, it was just a great time to be around [him]. It was really sad to see him pass away.”

All things considered, Smith’s time at St. John’s served him very well, and has helped him tremendously at Boston College.

“The reason why I went to St. John’s was obviously because of a great education, but as well as the level of competition in the baseball program,” Smith said. “I thought it prepared me very well. That kind of made it a little easier of a transition, going from St. John’s program to Boston College.”

With his time at BC nearing an end, Smith has contemplated a professional baseball career, but has tried not to let that consume him.

“I’ve definitely had a couple thoughts about continuing my career in baseball,” Smith said. “I’m just trying to go with the flow right now, obviously trying not to think about that because that’s the last thing in my mind right now. Right now, I just want to get to the ACC’s, win that and move on to Regionals.”

Yet even with that mindset, Smith can’t help but focus on his dream.

“That’s definitely a dream of mine, playing after college baseball,” Smith said. “That’s something I’ve wanted to do since I started T-Ball at 5 years old.”